Welcome back to the weekly GOOD NEWS. I had, um, the HARDEST TIME finding good news this week (do I say that every week?). Well, I guess that’s the point of the exercise, isn’t it? Embracing #TheStruggle to find some good in the world.

Let’s start with this candle. The holidays are really hard, not just because of difficult memories. From anxiety-provoking crowded shops, spending money I can’t afford to spare on gifts, and inevitably forgetting some tiny detail which OMG RUINS CHRISTMAS. I don’t know why people find this fun: stress is not fun. Stress is not fun! But this candle smells like all the parts of Christmas that aren’t stressful at all: namely, decorating a fresh-cut tree while drinking a hot, mulled beverage. So I’ve been REALLY enjoying this candle.

I’ve also been trying to expand my cooking repertoire! I’ve been watching Food Network shows (recently obsessed with Chopped) and trying to pay attention and absorb the basic principles: which herbs compliment which foods, how to add complex flavors by complimenting spicy & sweet & bitter & acid. I am also trying to figure out vegetables for the winter, and pulled off some pretty tasty roasted squash! Food is great.

I also attended No Lights, No Lycra this week after not going for like…months? And, true to form, I am achy and miserable now, days later, so let’s get on with the news:

My Femnasty piece this week, “Casual Sex, Actually” is a festive spin on the classic (??) holiday film all about casual sex!! It may be one of the most vulnerable things I’ve written this year, and I love it!

Mean, but funny? Part 2: This goat is terrorizing a small town, proof that “The Trump Effect” is leaking over into the animal kingdom. Why is this goat such a dick? What is his problem? I shouldn’t laugh at this but…I do.

I probably won’t update over the weekend because of a last-minute change of plans, so Merry Christmas if you care to have one. Remember to put Cetaphil lotion on your hands and around your eyes if you’re breaking out in Christmas rashes (everyone gets those, right? No? Just Me? FML). Have some Moscato for me and remember, this too shall pass. Come Monday morn, we can go back to being our normal selves and stop having the “BUT IT’S CHRISTMAS!” Faux Festive Feelings shoved down our throats. I hope I’ve helped you find some authentic good in the world over the past couple of months, and let this GOOD NEWS warm your heart the way it warms mine.